Well, Barack, it's been a fun campaign. We laughed, we cried, it was the best of times and the worst of times and all that. But unfortunately, I can't vote for you anymore. It's not you, it's me. You see, I just can't quite get over the fact that you've turned your campaign into a forum for anti-gay activists:

Then, just when the concert had seemed to reach its pitch and about to end, [ex-gay cazy gospel singer Donnie] McClurkin returned to it with a full-blown plea: “Don’t call me a bigot or anti-gay when I have suffered the same feelings,” he cried.

“God delivered me from homosexuality,” he added. He then told the audience to believe the Bible over the blogs: “God is the only way.” The crowd sang and clapped along in full support.

The political implications of his performance are not clear. The concert-goers we talked with afterward were generally more focused on making allowances for Mr. McClurkin’s past homosexuality than on anything about Mr. Obama.

The Obama campaign had appeared to be caught off guard by the reaction to inviting Mr. McClurkin in the first place, and it may have been surprised tonight by the degree to which the singer focused on himself. The other speakers and singers had avoided referencing the controversy. Even an openly gay minister whom Mr. Obama had invited after the fact to try to appease his gay and lesbian critics spoke so early that few people heard him.

Still, canceling Mr. McClurkin’s appearance might have created more problems. Mr. McClurkin’s support for Mr. Obama could signal to some black evangelical voters that race and religion are more important than Mr. Obama’s support for gay rights.

Well, it's done that for this white Unitarian.

Barack, I can understand the sort of brutal political calculation that leads a staffer to suggest that throwing gays under the bus may help you win more votes. And sadly, in some places, maybe it will. But the Republican party was dead wrong to throw blacks under the bus in the 1970s, and they're beginning to reap what they sowed now. We cannot, we must not abandon our full and vocal support for the right of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transmen and transwomen to be full and equal participants in our society. That's a bigger issue than any campaign, and a more important fundamental calling than any single race. In short, a candidate for the Democratic endorsement should be willing to lose before they abandon a commitment to equality. And the fact that you seem to put winning ahead of equality for gays and lesbians tells me that you are not somebody I can support for president. Perhaps, some day, you can undo the damage that you've done to yourself. But I can tell you that for me, it's not going to happen in time for the caucuses. It's been fun, Barack, but I'm going to have to take a look at Chris and John and God help me, Hillary. You obviously aren't yet up to the job of defending my fellow Americans' rights.

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In Which Barack Obama Loses My Vote For Good

Well, Barack, it's been a fun campaign. We laughed, we cried, it was the best of times and the worst of times and all that. But unfortunately, I can't vote for you anymore. It's not you, it's me. You see, I just can't quite get over the fact that you've turned your campaign into a forum for anti-gay activists:

Then, just when the concert had seemed to reach its pitch and about to end, [ex-gay cazy gospel singer Donnie] McClurkin returned to it with a full-blown plea: “Don’t call me a bigot or anti-gay when I have suffered the same feelings,” he cried.

“God delivered me from homosexuality,” he added. He then told the audience to believe the Bible over the blogs: “God is the only way.” The crowd sang and clapped along in full support.

The political implications of his performance are not clear. The concert-goers we talked with afterward were generally more focused on making allowances for Mr. McClurkin’s past homosexuality than on anything about Mr. Obama.

The Obama campaign had appeared to be caught off guard by the reaction to inviting Mr. McClurkin in the first place, and it may have been surprised tonight by the degree to which the singer focused on himself. The other speakers and singers had avoided referencing the controversy. Even an openly gay minister whom Mr. Obama had invited after the fact to try to appease his gay and lesbian critics spoke so early that few people heard him.

Still, canceling Mr. McClurkin’s appearance might have created more problems. Mr. McClurkin’s support for Mr. Obama could signal to some black evangelical voters that race and religion are more important than Mr. Obama’s support for gay rights.

Well, it's done that for this white Unitarian.

Barack, I can understand the sort of brutal political calculation that leads a staffer to suggest that throwing gays under the bus may help you win more votes. And sadly, in some places, maybe it will. But the Republican party was dead wrong to throw blacks under the bus in the 1970s, and they're beginning to reap what they sowed now. We cannot, we must not abandon our full and vocal support for the right of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transmen and transwomen to be full and equal participants in our society. That's a bigger issue than any campaign, and a more important fundamental calling than any single race. In short, a candidate for the Democratic endorsement should be willing to lose before they abandon a commitment to equality. And the fact that you seem to put winning ahead of equality for gays and lesbians tells me that you are not somebody I can support for president. Perhaps, some day, you can undo the damage that you've done to yourself. But I can tell you that for me, it's not going to happen in time for the caucuses. It's been fun, Barack, but I'm going to have to take a look at Chris and John and God help me, Hillary. You obviously aren't yet up to the job of defending my fellow Americans' rights.

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